


We're All Stars Fighting the Darkness

by Jules1398



Series: "Stars" Verse [1]
Category: The Maze Runner (2014), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Depression, Homophobia, M/M, Self-Harm, Suicide Attempt, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-01
Updated: 2015-01-13
Packaged: 2018-03-04 20:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3087599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jules1398/pseuds/Jules1398
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newt's life has been better since he started college and, when he meets Thomas during sophomore year, he starts to understand that there's more to life than battling the darkness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> WARNINGS FOR DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE ATTEMPT IN THIS FIC
> 
> This is my first multichapter tmr and I do intend on finishing it despite my bad track record with finishing fic. (But this one is better so yeah)
> 
> Also when I copy and paste into Ao3 it tends to add extra spaces, which I might go back and fix eventually.

 

 

“Greenie meet Newt, professional downer of our fine group.”

Newt looked up at the sound of Minho’s voice to see the Korean boy walking toward him followed by some guy with ruffled brown hair and eyes that looked like the mocha that was currently sitting in front of him.

He didn't have time for this right now. He was bloody working. Why did Minho have to come and bug him when he was trying to do a job to get paid money, a concept that Minho clearly didn't seem to grasp.

The dude elbowed Minho in the stomach. Newt honestly didn't blame him. If his manager wasn't talking to the customer sitting at table three, he'd have probably elbowed him too. Minho may be his friend, but he was also a total slinthead sometimes. "I told you not to call me that!"

Ah, the bloody shank wasn't a fan of the nickname. Or Minho. Well, probably both. 

Minho snorted in response and turned toward Newt. "This shank is Thomas Greene and he's my new roommate."

Last year, Minho and Newt had been put in the same room. That was how they met. It made sense that when Newt and his twin sister, Sonya, had decided to rent an apartment together that somebody else would have the horrible luck of getting Minho as their roomie.

Newt really felt bad for the guy. Living with Minho was the worst. He was loud and he tended to come in really late, usually with a girl. How Minho hadn't failed any of his freshmen classes was well beyond Newt's understanding. 

Newt smiled at Thomas, feeling a bit of pity for the shank . "Nice to meet ya, Tommy."

Thomas returned his smile. "You too, Newt."

"Sorry you're stuck rooming with Minho," he apologized.

"What?" the brunette replied, looking extremely confused but, then again, there always seemed to be a little bit of confusion on his face. 

Minho quickly changed the subject. Obviously he was trying to make a good impression before he totally ruined the dude's college experience. "Hey, so are you coming to  Teresa's party tonight, Newt?"

Newt crinkled up his nose. "Absolutely not," he stated as the mocha's owner finally came up to the register to claim their drink.

Minho grinned as he pulled Thomas out the doorway. "Great! See you there !"

Newt rolled his eyes as he went to make the next customer her pumpkin spice latte. At least he couldn't get dragged to these things anymore since he didn't actually live with Minho. That's another perk that Tommy would soon be discovering.

He smiled knowing his night was open. He could have a nice dinner with his sister or watch  football as Alby desperately tried to explain the concept of the sport to him once again. Newt just didn't get why that was called "football" and real football was called "soccer." In American football, the ball was rarely allowed to actually touch anybody's feet and what the hell was a "soccer" anyway. 

Either way, it was pretty enjoyable watching Alby's frustration when trying to answer all his questions and deal with all of his complaints. Since Alby had played it in high school, he was practically a pro while all Newt really did in his high school was run track until his "accident."

The clock struck 7 o'clock and Newt headed home to his nice, quiet apartment where he lived with his sister, who was far less annoying than Minho, even when she was all up in his business.

* * *

 

Newt despised parties. He hated how loud they were. He hated how many people were there. He hated how hot it was. He hated everything. Yet, he always seemed to get dragged to them.

His sister had kicked him out since she wanted to have her boyfriend, Ben, over and Alby was busy so he was stuck going to this thing.

"It'll be fun!"  Sonya had said before sending him off.  "Plus, you need to loosen up a bit. Get drunk. Have sex. This is college!"

Because that was exactly what Newt wanted to do. Turn into a drunken idiot so he could fuck some other drunken idiot. He didn't get why people didn't understand that the real reason they should go to college is to learn, not to get shitfaced and have sex with as many people that they'll never speak with again as possible.

Yet, here he was at this stupid party drinking cheap beer that tasted like cardboard flavored water and wouldn't get him nearly drunk enough to deal with all these stupid shucks.

"Newt!" called a female voice. Newt turned to his right to see the hostess herself strutting toward him in a blue shirt that brought out her eyes as well as dark wash jeans and black combat boots.

Newt grinned, happy to find somebody that he knew at the party so early on.

 "Hey Teresa!" he yelled back over the booming music.

"Thank God you're here. I didn't actually invite any of these people to my house and I honestly have no idea what's going on," she explained as she guided him up to her bedroom where it was quiet.

Once they got in, they quickly locked the door behind them. Didn't need any drunk people bursting in to make out or puke or anything of the like.

"Minho invited me here," Newt answered his friend. "I didn't want to go, but some force keeps dragging me to stupid college parties that have never had any desire to attend."

"You wouldn't want to go to my party?" She slapped her hands onto her chest in fake offense.

"So, we need to find Minho," Newt concluded for her.

Teresa shrugged. "Nah. Parties are fun, Newt. Enjoy yourself. Make new friends. Make new more than friends." The girl wiggled her eyebrows as she left the room.

Newt followed suit a few minutes later. He was definitely going to need another beer as soon as possible.

He went into the kitchen and cracked open another can of beer. He turned around and almost crashed into somebody.

"Sorry!" they apologized at the same time. Newt finally got a chance to see who it was he had almost collided with, only to see it was the guy from earlier.

"Hey Tommy." Newt smiled.  There  was something about this guy that comforted him, even with all the anxiety that parties tended to give him.

"Oh, hey Newt." Thomas blushed. "Are you enjoying the party?"

Newt shrugged. "Not really my scene, but I guess it's nice when you have friends on your side." 

He sounded like a bloody idiot. Everything coming out of his mouth was absolute bullshit, but Tommy didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah," the brunette replied. "I'm not usually much of a fan of them either, but maybe it's just because I don't drink ."

Newt raised an eyebrow. Most college aged kids drank, legal or not. In England, it's legal drink from age 18, so Newt had been drinking legally up until he moved to the States. 

"Why don't you drink?" he asked. What a stupid question. Maybe he was just a law abiding citizen. Obviously Newt was the one who shouldn't have been drinking.

Thomas shrugged. "I'm a total lightweight and I don't want to embarrass myself in front of large groups of people."

Newt blinked. He didn't suspect honesty from this guy that he had just met earlier that day. "I understand," he began, "but living with Minho's gonna have you wanting to get as drunk as possible.

"Okay, what's so bad about living with him?" the brunette asked.

Newt laughed and patted Thomas on the back. "Oh, you'll see, Tommy, you'll see."

Just then, the very man himself popped up.

" Heyyy  duudeesss !" Minho slurred, somehow drunk already. Newt looked pointedly at Thomas.

"Minho," Newt began. "Teresa is going to cut you into pieces. Starting with your dick."

"Come onnnn, Newtie . Live a little. Come with me and Thomas we're gonna go pick up some chicks and you can be our wing man ."

"I'm good," Thomas said, looking awkwardly down at his feet.

"I'd rather eat a bloody cactus," Newt replied, earning a sad expression from Minho, who promptly waddled away into the crowd of people.

"Should we find him and get him back to the dorm?" Thomas asked worriedly.

"It's fine, Tommy. Minho's a big boy," said Newt. 

"Besides," he continued, grasping Thomas' wrist. "I need to bust Ben's nuts before he tries to touch my sister."

Thomas, obviously confused like usual, followed him out of the house. "What?"

Newt turned around in Teresa 's front lawn and started walking backward so he could face the other boy. "My sister invited her boyfriend over tonight. I need to ensure their date is over."

"Why do you need me?" Thomas asked as  he continued to follow Newt's lead.

Newt grinned at him. "Because it's obvious that neither of us want to be at that party."

Thomas shrugged and ran to catch up so they were able to walk side by side.

"So," Thomas started, "what do you have against this Ben dude?"

Newt shrugged. "Nothing. He's just dating my sister and it's my responsibility to make her life miserable by chasing off all potential love interests. Our parents live back in London, so somebody has to do it."

"Fair enough," Thomas agreed as he followed Newt into his apartment complex, which was only like three blocks from Teresa's house.

* * *

 

Newt approached the door to his room and put his finger on his lips so Thomas stayed silent. He had to listen in because, although he wanted to prevent Sonya and Ben from doing the do, he certainly didn't want to catch them in the act. He could hear nothing except for, was that?

"Dude," Thomas whispered. "I think she's just on the computer."

Newt turned the doorknob and walked in the room to see his twin sitting on the couch with her laptop eating a sandwich.

"Ah me grd!" Sonya yelled through a mouth full of sandwich. 

She swallowed. "You actually brought somebody home for once."

Thomas stood off the side in his normal amount of confusion. 

"Where's Ben?" Newt asked, a tint of anger hanging from his words.

Sonya smiled back at him. "He couldn't make it. Dinner with his parents or something. If you need the apartment, I can probably hang with Harriet or Aris tonight?"

Newt blushed and hoped to god that Thomas didn't see. "Tommy here also got dragged to the stupid party against his will, so I figured I'd let him sleep on the couch or something so he got another day of innocence before he has to deal with Minho's shit."

Sonya nodded. "That's fair. Better a couch than the floor outside the dorm while Minho's waving his dick around inside the room."

Newt turned to see a horrified looking Thomas. 

"You okay mate?" Sonya giggled. "You look like we just killed your dog?"

"Um,"

"Speak up, slinthead!"

Newt decided it was time to stop his sister. "Sonya, leave him be. He's a friend of mine. You don't want to scare him away just yet."

"Let's start over, mate. Name's Sonya." She stuck her hand out toward him.

"Thomas," he replied as he shook it.

Sonya turned to Newt. "Well, I'm heading over to Harriet's anyway. Have a nice evening Newt," she said then turned to look at the brunette, "Thomas."

When she shut the door behind her, Newt immediately turned to Thomas.

"I'm so sorry. She's not normally like this except to Minho because they're both bloody pricks."

"It's fine," Thomas shrugged. "I get it."

"What?" Newt raised an eyebrow at the brunette.

"Like you said before. Your mom and dad are all the way in England. She's just doing her job as a sister."

Then, Thomas bloody winked at him. That kind of  klunk  should be shucking illegal. Was he flirting with him? Did Newt want him to be?

A chuckle from Thomas pulled him from his thoughts. "Well, if I'm going to sleep here tonight, you  better get me some pillows and stuff."

Newt blinked for a second then went to fetch a blanket and some pillows for him. It was strangely comforting, how close they had grown in a span of a day.

Usually, Newt had trouble trusting anyone, but he bloody sure trusted Tommy.

He tossed the stuff to his new friend. "I'm going to head to bed then. Need anything?"

Newt swore he saw a flicker of disappointment flash across the brunette's face, but maybe it was just his imagination. "No, I'm all good."

Newt smiled. "Good that. Night Tommy."

"Night Newt."

The blonde walked to his room to go to bed with a smile on his face for the first time in ages.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HUGE TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER FOR DEPRESSION, SELF-HARM, AND SUICIDE.

 

Newt had hoped that, with  that sense of happiness and safety he got from Thomas sleeping in the other room, he'd be able to avoid having the dream, but here it was again.

It didn't haunt him every night, just like once or twice a week and it wasn't usually that vivid unless he was in a really bad rut of depression.

And, then again, it wasn't really a nightmare, per say, but more of a flashback to when he was suffering from major depression when he was sixteen.

The dream usually consisted of him sitting on the bridge for a while and it always ended when he jumped, but, well, that wasn't his whole story.

* * *

 

Newt had always felt alone. He didn't really have friends in high school other than Sonya, and she was usually busy with her own friends. He felt lonely, but he dealt with it.

There was a few kids that bullied him because he was smarter than them. They pretended to be his friends for a while to get homework and test answers but, when he told them he wasn't going to help them cheat anymore, they all stopped talking to him unless they were teasing him. That sucked, especially when one of them outed him to the entire school.

When his parents found out that he was gay, they didn't say anything. At first he thought that it was a good thing, that they didn't really care, but he came to realize that they were ignoring him because they didn't want him as their son anymore. They were ashamed.

Between the taunting at school and the neglect from his parents, Newt just couldn't handle it anymore. He started slicing into his wrists because the few seconds of physical pain he experienced with each cut seemed so much easier than the emotional pain he felt otherwise.

Then, he started cutting even more because he though he was broken. He thought he deserved the pain. He was pretty  sure his parents knew and didn't care and some of the boys at school found out and made fun of him for that too.

Nobody understood him.

When Sonya first saw the scars  on his wrists , which were more like fresh cuts and scabs because he was constantly cutting back into his skin whenever he had the chance to be alone, she hugged him and they cried for hours. She actually slept in his room that night and for a few  nights  after because she, wisely, didn't trust him to be alone and not hurt himself but, as soon as she stopped watching his every move, he started doing it again. On his thighs, where she couldn't see them.

Sonya thought he was getting better when his wrists healed, so she backed off a lot, but that allowed him to have more alone time, which made his depression even worse.

On his first day of summer after Year 11, he sat on the edge of a bridge that he knew to be void of homeless people and on a road that wasn't quite so busy as the others. It overlooked a shallow creek that was not nearly deep enough to break his fall. Besides, there were a few large rocks on the bed of the creek that he’d definitely hit from some angle.

It would be the perfect place to die. To end the pain. End everything. The only person in his life who really cared about him was Sonya, and she'd get over it  eventually .

So, on that windy spring night, Newt stood up with shaky legs and took one last look at the view in front of him. He could see some of the skyscrapers peaking out of London, the bright city lights. 

He closed his eyes to block them out. He had always found light to be ignorant. It could never truly block out all of the darkness in the world.

He took  a deep breath and mustered up his  last bit of courage and jumped  forward . Before he totally lost consciousness, as he flew through the air, he came upon a realization.

That wasn't courage. He had just succumbed to the weakness that had been plaguing him  for the past months, maybe even years . He was going to die and the darkness was going to take his soul with it, like a dead star flickering out of the sky.

* * *

 

When, he woke up, all he saw was white. At first he thought maybe that was what death was, but then he saw a few spider webs and realized he was staring at a ceiling.

He turned his head, realizing that his neck had somehow not snapped during his fall to see a pretty woman with curly red hair pulled back into a ponytail over her blue scrubs. A nurse, probably .

"Excuse me?" he croaked out. Pain shot through his lungs as he spoke. He realized that he'd probably snapped a few ribs.

The woman turned around with shock in her emerald green eyes.

"Dear Lord!" she exclaimed. "You're awake."

He opened his mouth to speak again, but she shushed him. "Sorry, honey, but it probably hurts for you to speak right now. Maybe you should wait till the doctor needs you to talk with him."

She said something into her walkie talkie and then took a seat next to him. "You took quite a fall, sweetheart, but I suppose you knew that."

Newt nodded.

"I should probably tell you my name, honey, since you're going to be seeing a lot of me while I'm here."

He nodded again.

She ran her soft, pale fingers through his tangled blond hair. "I'm Rachel. I'm the one whose been doing the most of the checking up on you, sugar."

She sure had a thing for pet names. He supposed that's what it was probably like to have a loving mum rather than one that couldn't even meet your eyes.

"You've been asleep for two weeks, baby. Your parents came in for the first few days and haven't been back since."

Newt bit his lip and tried not to cry. He shouldn't expect any more from them, especially after the past few months.

Rachel must have seen him cry because she wiped his face and said in her sweet voice: "Oh, sweetie, please don't cry. Not all parents are the best, but at least they came. Now, that pretty sister of yours, Sonya, she's a sweet thing. She comes in every day after school for an hour or so."

Newt smiled slightly before he fell back asleep. His weakened condition caused him to require a lot of rest.

Two weeks later, he was well enough to leave the hospital with a few bottles of pills for pain and depression and months of physical and psychological therapy ahead.

He was able to heal completely other than his right leg, which was going to leave him limping for the rest of his life. He also kept Rachel's number and called her when he needed extra support, which she was more than happy to give him when he needed it .

Newt hated London from that point on. The sight of it reminded him of the weakest point in his life, so he and Sonya had decided to move to the States together for University.

Everything got better when he was away from it all. He still had trust issues and the occasional short relapse of heavy depression, but overall things improved. And they just kept getting better with each waking hour.

Newt now saw each person as a shining star, fighting their own battles against the darkness. Thomas was the brightest star he'd ever seen. It was almost as if he was immune to the dark. He didn't need to try to block it out, for he was the strongest light in the universe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the next chapter is less serious and more newtmas.


	3. Chapter 3

At the end of the dream, Newt's eyes blinked open. He used to leap up or scream when he awoke from that nightmare, but he'd had it so many times in the past few years that he knew it was just a dream and could remain calm afterward, even though sometimes it triggered his depression.

Newt looked at the clock on his nightstand. Seven in the morning. Knowing that there was no way he'd fall back asleep at this point, he wiped the sleep from his eyes and slowly lifted himself from his bed to get a glass of water, massaging his right leg before fully standing.

He crept out of the doorway to see a body passed out on his couch. He freaked out for a moment thinking that somebody had broken into his flat until he realized it was just Tommy.

He tried to be even quieter as he walked than before because he didn't want to wake the man on the couch. When he made it into the kitchen, he didn't turn on the lights because he was fairly sure it's wake Thomas.

Newt reached up to get a cup, but he slipped on a puddle of water on the ground that Sonya had probably forgot to clean up. He grasped for the shelf that their (thankfully) plastic cups were on, but the shelf broke with him because he lived in a shitty ass apartment that never was there for him when he needed it. Newt fell onto the ground with a loud crash, bringing down a large chunk of wood and about fifty cups with him.

And, if that didn't wake Thomas up, Newt's exclamation of "MOTHERFUCKING SHIT!" probably did.

Thomas ran in from the other room and flipped the lights on, worried expression strewn across his face. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Newt wished he could burrow into the ground, he was so embarrassed. He saw blood, so he was pretty sure he had sliced open one of his hands on the wood, but what hurt the most was his bad leg. He must have fallen on it.

Newt swallowed before he finally admitted, "I need help getting up."

He figured that Thomas was just going to grab his hand to help him stand, but the brunette leaned over and shucking hoisted him up by the waist and carried him over to the couch.

"Wow, you're bugging strong for your size," Newt thought aloud.

Thomas shrugged as settled Newt comfortably on the couch. "I played football in high school. Did a lot of lifting."

Bloody hell. Now Newt was going to have to deal with two shuckfaces trying to explain something he doesn't really care about to him. He noted to himself that he should avoid being alone with Tommy and Alby at all costs. Especially during a game.

"Are you okay?" Thomas repeated.

Oh, right. He was in pain. Easy to forget something like that when a hot guy is carrying you around the house.

"I'll be fine," Newt said, now realizing that it was his left hand that was bleeding.

"There are bandages and rubbing alcohol in the shelf behind the mirror and there are rags in the linen closet which is the door inside the bathroom,” he directed to the brunette.

Thomas processed everything for a second and then ran off to get the stuff. Newt felt kind of bad. He'd known the guy for less that twenty-four hours and he'd already ruined his good night's sleep with total disaster.

The brunette came running back, medical supplies in hand and immediately got to work on cleaning up Newt's hand.

"I'm sorry," the blonde said, meeting Thomas' eyes.

Mocha colored eyes returned his gaze. "It was an accident. I'm helping. That's what good friends are for."

Newt blinked. "I haven't even known you a whole day. We're good friends?"

The blonde winced when he applied rubbing alcohol to the cut.

"Well I hope so," Thomas chuckled. "I slept on your couch last night."

Thomas finished bandaging up Newt's hand and scanned his body for other cuts and bruises.

"Like what you see, Tommy?" he joked halfheartedly, wincing in pain when he tried to scoot over his leg.

"Maybe that's true, but I'm a little more concerned about your medical condition right now," Thomas said playfully.

"It's just my bloody leg," Newt promised. "Hurt it a few years ago and now it does this all the time."

"Promise?" Thomas asked looking to his eyes for conformation.

"Cross my heart, Tommy."

"Fine, but I'm calling your sister since you obviously aren't okay to get up on it right now," the brunette promised.

Fifteen minutes later, Sonya showed up.

“See ya, Newt!” Thomas waved. “Feel better!”

“Thanks Tommy!” Newt replied. “You too!”

After he left, Sonya turned to him. “So let me get this straight. You slipped in the kitchen and broke the shelf because you were trying not to wake up the poor guy when you went to get water.”

“That's exactly what happened,” Newt said, rubbing his bandaged hand.

“That's hilarious!” she exclaimed. Sonya broke out laughing as she walked into the other room to clean up his mess. Leaving Newt alone.

He wondered When the next time he’d see Tommy would be.

Newt wasn't ready to admit it, but he already missed the shank.

 

* * *

 

Newt didn't see the other boy until the following Wednesday.

On Sunday, Newt and Sonya cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, stacking all the cups that they couldn't fit in the remaining cabinets on the counter. Newt's leg still hurt pretty bad from falling on it the day before, so they pretty much spent the rest of the day sitting around watching bad movies on Netflix and eating take out from the Thai restaurant down the street.

On Monday, Newt had a full day of classes. Monday was his hardest day because he had this philosophy that if he had the most to do on Monday, the rest of the week would be a breeze and he wouldn't get as stressed out. It really just made Sunday nights more stressful, but at least he was able to get most of his work done throughout the week.

His limp was still pretty heavy from his fall, but his leg didn't hurt nearly as bad. Unfortunately, Alby noticed it and bugged him about it. When, Newt told him how he fell, Alby laughed so loud that their professor gave him a dirty look.

On Tuesday, he had more classes and he had to work that evening. At this point, Alby had somehow found out about Thomas.

_"Hey Newt, I heard Minho got a new roommate. What was his name?" Alby asked._

_"Thomas," Newt answered, not paying much attention._

_"Are you sure it's not Tommy?" Alby winked, earning a dirty look from Newt._

_"It's not," Newt gritted out._

_"Heard he slept over at your place Friday night," Alby teased. "Guess you could say that you fell for him."_

_Newt promptly grabbed all his stuff and left the cafeteria, face flushed red._

Finally, on Wednesday night, Newt ran into Thomas again. On accident.

Newt and Sonya had run out of milk so, to avoid total pandemonium the next morning, Newt ran to the 24 hour supermarket at 11 at night.

It was almost empty. Newt saw only five cars in the parking lot, though, a lot of college kids did tend to walk everywhere because they either didn't have cars, couldn't afford gas, or both.

When he walked inside, it was totally silent except for the swooshing of the automatic doors. Not even the music that they usually played in the background was on. There was probably like two twenty year olds covering the night shift, so it made sense that they wouldn't want to listen to the same crappy music that's on all day.

Newt turned into the dairy isle, promptly smacking into another body.

When Newt saw those brown eyes and that surprised expression, he burst into laughter.

"Tommy," he chuckled, "We've got to stop meeting like this."

Thomas smiled weakly in return. He looked exhausted but, then again, it was late at night in the middle of a school week. Pretty much every college student except maybe Minho was probably fast asleep or peeling their eyes open so they could try to finish a last minute essay.

"So why are you here?" Thomas asked, yawning as he did so.

"Needed milk. Sonya wasn't about to move her arse off the couch, so here I am," Newt replied coolly. "How about you?"

"Minho," Thomas groaned. Newt nodded with understanding. "What kind of shank finds it acceptable to use the room for sex in the middle of the week?"

Newt put a hand on the brunette's shoulder. "You'll get through this year. I promise. Yell at him tomorrow."

Thomas raised an eyebrow at him. "Does that actually work for a grown man child like Minho?"

"No," the blond shrugged. "He doesn't actually listen, but you should do it anyway."

They just stood there silently, but it wasn't awkward at all. If anything, it was calming. Newt bit his lip as he admired Thomas' features. His mocha colored eyes that were filled with curiosity. His dark brown hair that always seemed to be just a little bit messy. The little mole by his lip that just seemed to bring out his mouth and eyes. His soft pink lips that Newt just wanted to reach out and touch or, better yet, kiss.

Newt shook himself from those thoughts. This was his friend. Nothing more. They hadn't talked in days. Obviously Thomas wasn't interested.

"Do you want to sty over again?" Newt offered, unsure of what else to say.

Thomas reached back and scratched his own neck. "Um, I don't know. Last time I did that, you got hurt. Minho's probably done by now anyway."

Newt snorted. "You underestimate his power to fall asleep and forget to unlock the door."

Thomas groaned audibly.

Newt chuckled. "Give me a call if you ever need somewhere to sleep. My couch is always open to you."

"Thanks," Thomas replied biting his lip. Newt wanted to kiss him so much, but he knew he shouldn't.

His train of thought was interrupted by a short buzzing that signified that he had received a text message.

**Sonya: get back w/the shucking milk m8**

"I have to go," Newt said apologetically as he grabbed a gallon of skim milk. (He liked the watery taste, okay?) "See you around, Tommy."

"See you soon, Newt!" the brunette grinned.

Newt hoped that Thomas didn't see the red blush creeping up his neck as he walked away. Hopefully he wouldn't have to wait four days to see him again. Newt didn't know if he could bear it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is much happier lmao


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

On Friday, Newt was invited to a "not party" at Teresa's house. She'd invited a select group of friends, but also allowed them to bring whoever so, in reality, it was basically just another college party. Though, usually there was a few less people there, so that was a plus.

Newt still didn't really want to go, but Thomas was probably going to be there, so he slipped on a fresh gray t-shirt and some tight dark wash jeans and headed off to Teresa's place.

He and Sonya took the long route to get there so they could pick up Ben from his dorm a few blocks away. It was nice. The sun was setting and it was about sixty degrees. Could've been a great romantic moment for them if Newt wasn't there third wheeling.

It also could've been a relaxing moment for Newt himself if he wasn't there third wheeling because apparently Sonya couldn't keep her shucking mouth shut.

"So Newt," Ben began with a teasing tone in his voice that reminded Newt of how much he actually hated his twin's boyfriend even though he was the nicest kid on the planet. "Sonya tells me that there's somebody you like at this party."

Yeah, Newt definitely was going to commit sororicide one of these days.

Newt shrugged and pretended that he had no idea what Ben meant. "Yeah, well, I was invited to this party by a friend so I suppose there'll be other friends of mine there. I do like my friends."

Ben rolled his green eyes. "No, I mean somebody that you  _like_  like ."

Sonya snorted. " _Like_  like?! What are you five?"

Ben froze up and flushed a deep red. It was funny how he tended to react when he embarrassed himself in front of Sonya. He was head over heels for her. Lucky for him, she loved him back. Newt liked the kid. He was nice and he respected her.

"Crap," he said. "I meant somebody that, you know."

"He knows lots of people," Sonya chimed in.

Newt kinda felt bad for the kid. How he dealt with their levels of sarcasm was well beyond him.

"Yeah, we know what you mean, mate," Newt chuckled. "And, yeah, maybe the guy that I'm interested in will be there."

Ben clapped a hand on his back. "Well good luck, man. We'll be there if you need it."

"Yeah we will," Sonya chirped, wanting to, once again, get all up in his business.

"Please don't be," Newt groaned as he approached Teresa's door and knocked.

* * *

 

The get-together was actually way smaller than Newt expected. It really was basically his normal group of friends and a few extras like Teresa's cousin  Aris (who also happened to be one of Sonya's friends) and Alby's cute little girlfriend Laura who actually lived a few towns over.

Newt was disappointed when he realized that there was no sign of Thomas any where around the house .

Since there weren't too many of them, they ordered a few pizzas and all gathered in the living room to watch a movie.

They were halfway through The Avengers  (Newt was pretty sure that Teresa didn't own anything that wasn't a superhero movie), drinking cheap beer and eating greasy pizza, when Thomas showed up-

-with a girl.

"Sorry we're late. I was just helping Brenda here with some class stuff and then there was traffic." Thomas seemed genuinely sorry even though it was not big deal.

The two of them sat down together and shared pizza and, though Newt never ever wanted to admit it, he was jealous. It angered him. How could he be jealous over something that wasn't even his? Newt felt like a complete and utter asshole.

Brenda was a pretty girl. She had dark brown eyes and brown hair that was pulled back by a beige headband. Newt supposed that she was the kind of girl that most guys would be attracted to, including Thomas.

She also seemed like a nice person. She was very grateful to Teresa for the food, beer, and invitation and she was kind and polite to every single person there. She also had enough sass to counter Minho, which was pretty impressive.

Newt felt like a fool for even thinking he had a chance with Thomas in the first place.

He suddenly felt sick to his stomach and all he wanted to do was go home and call Rachel.

He got up fifteen minutes after they put a second movie in and pulled Teresa aside.

"Hey," he began, staring at his feet, "I  think I'm going to head home. I think I'm coming down with something."

Yeah, he was coming down with a severe case of the cold, hard truth.

Teresa looked concerned. "Do you need a ride?"

"T, it's a few blocks away. I'll be fine," Newt replied, rolling his eyes.

"Well, call me if you need anything," she demanded.

Newt nodded in response and turned to head out the door.

"Hey, where the hell do you think you're going, shank?" Minho called from where he was sitting in the living room.

"Home. See you later, slinthead ."

Newt walked out the door, happy for the fresh air. He walked briskly, wanting to get home as soon as possible.

He was only halfway down Teresa's driveway when he heard an all too familiar voice call out "Newt! Wait up!"

Newt internally cursed Minho for making a comment when he left. He just wanted to go home and Thomas was the last person he wanted to talk to at the moment.

"What do you want, Tommy?" Newt turned around and asked, irritation evident in his voice. 

"I just haven't gotten a chance to talk to you in a few days." Thomas sounded hurt by Newt's tone and he instantly felt guilty for snapping at the brunette.

"Sorry," Newt said. "I was mean. Please speak to me."

"I was just wondering how you're doing." Thomas asked and he sounded so bloody innocent, like everything was right in the world.

Newt shrugged. "Well, Tommy, I'm feeling like bloody klunk right now, but other than that I'm fine."

"Do you need anything? I could come with you and make you tea or soup or-"

"I'm fine." Newt wondered how many times he was going to have to tell people that. He could already tell he was going to have to say it to Sonya numerous times in the near future.

"Okay," Thomas said, biting his lip. "Well, what did you think of Brenda?"

If there was one bloody thing he had no desire to talk to Thomas about ever, it was his shucking girlfriend.

Newt pretended he didn't care and shrugged. "Not really my type, Tommy, but she seems to be nice ."

A flash of confusion flickered across the brunette's face, which was not an unusual sight. Newt honestly wasn't sure whether the boy was a genius or an idiot. Maybe both.

"Well," Thomas mumbled, still confused about something or other, "I'll see you tomorrow at Minho's party, right?"

"Maybe," Newt replied as he walked away. "Bye."

* * *

 

 

Newt had zero interest in going to Minho's party. Newt had gone the year before and hated it. 

It was a start of the school year party and, since Minho knew some dude named Jorge, he was allowed to rent out the guy's bar from time to time and throw a party with plenty of different kinds of crappy booze. Every party Minho hosted was gross, smelly, and overcrowded, so Newt thought it best to avoid them at all costs.

Also, Thomas was probably going with Brenda and he honestly did not want to deal with that, especially after having to watch them cuddle the night before. It was selfish, but Newt didn't really care. He thought if he distanced himself from Tommy, he'd eventually lose interest in the other boy.

So, there Newt sat. Alone in his apartment (Sonya and Ben had decided to go to the party) eating leftover Chinese food from who knows when and finishing up a lit paper on a Saturday night. He liked to capture the true spirit of college.

Sure, Minho had sort of expected him to be at the party, but he'd be too drunk to notice anyway, so it wouldn't be that  big of a deal. He could lie if he had to.

At eleven, it became clear that Minho did notice his absence when he received a phone call.

"Hey dude!" slurred Minho on the other time.

"Bloody hell, man. Why are you calling me instead of wasting the best years of your life?" Newt responded.

Minho let out some kind of disgusting sounding snort giggle. "I should be asking you the same thing, nerd."

Newt was tempted to hang up, but then he remembered that his friend was an idiot and, if he needed a ride, it was the blonde's job to keep him safe.

"What do you need?" Newt asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"So, the craziest thing happened, man!" Minho sounded excited, which meant a long winded story.

"Get to the point."

"We kind of  got busted and I need you to bail me out."

Newt ran his fingers through his hair in frustration with his best friend. He hoped that Minho would actually learn something from this experience. That is, if he actually remembered it later.

"I'm on my way." Newt grabbed his car keys off the counter and put on his coat. "Are Sonya and Ben there with you?"

"No, dude. They went to his place before it happened. Nobody I know is here until you come to rescue me."

Newt seriously considered just leaving Minho in there overnight. It'd be a nice learning opportunity for him.

"See you in a bit. Don't start any fights ."

* * *

 

Newt arrived at the police station a few minutes later, exhausted to the core. The cops were pretty nice. They seemed happy to see a college kid that wasn't drunk or drugged up for once. He paid Minho's bail and they delivered him from the holding cell.

"NEWT!" Minho yelled upon seeing the blonde. "My best friend and savior!"

Bloody hell, the kid was completely and utterly wasted.

During the car ride to Minho's dorm, Newt blocked out at least 90% of whatever the Korean was mumbling on about. Until he mentioned Thomas.

"Dude maybe I shoulda called Thomas. He wouldn't have been such a grumpy shank about this like you are," Minho slurred. At least he was forming coherent sentences,

"Wasn't he at the party?" Newt asked, glancing over to his right.

Minho was dancing now. There was literally no music on in the car, yet he was still dancing.

"Thomas WAS at the party but he left like five minutes after he got there. I blame you," Minho sung to no tune in particular.  What the hell was wrong with him?

"Why'd he leave?" the blonde inquired.

Minho threw his hands up. "You're sooo stupid. He left cause you weren't there and he didn't see a point in being there."

Newt blushed lightly. "But, what about Brenda?"

"Brenda," Minho sighed, "Isn't she a hot one? Really sweet too and funny. Not afraid to call people out on their klunk ."

Newt groaned internally. He wasn't going to ever get Minho back on the old subject. The guy just couldn't stay on topic, especially when he was drunk.

When they arrived at Minho and Tommy's dorm, Newt sent Minho up and prayed that he got to the correct room safely. He really had no desire to talk to Thomas about Brenda again or, worse, walk in on them kissing or something.

Newt silently drove home and pretended to enjoy the solitude. He pretended that he didn't want to be back at Minho's dorm just to be near Thomas. Because he didn't want to be. Because there was absolutely no way in hell that he had fallen in love with  Thomas Greene in a matter of days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost just posted the first half of this chap but like nah bro


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit short yet it is very important. (Also grouping it with the next one would make it way too long)
> 
> Yeah ik it was a bit longer of a wait for less, but finals are next week and I wrote something for this, decided it was crap, and erased it so I could take the story a different direction.

 

Newt didn't see Thomas again until the following Thursday. It wasn't just because he  was ignoring him because, okay, at this point even Newt could admit that to himself. Apparently Newt actually was coming down with something, so he was laid up in bed Sunday and Monday, leaving him with make up lecture notes that he got from Alby, a bundle of essays, school itself, and work to keep him busy the next few days.

Funny enough, work was actually the next place that he saw the brunette man and, to Newt's dismay, Brenda. 

Newt was just about to finish up his shift around seven when they came into the coffee shop. He saw the pair first and wished that Zart would just get there so they could switch shifts already. 

They walked in, chatting animatedly and Newt choked down his jealousy. He had no right to be jealous, after all. Even if the guy he was totally into was on a date in the place he worked with some chick. And he was going to have to serve them and, consequently, talk to them.

Zart needed to bloody hurry up and get there already.

Luckily, a short woman came up to order a latté, so it wouldn't look like he'd just been staring at them for what seemed like five minutes.

When he finished serving her, Brenda yanked Thomas by the hand and pulled him up to the counter. Thomas looked somewhat surprised to see him, which was ridiculous because they'd met while Newt was working in that very shop, so he should've expected that he might be there, especially around the same time of day.

"Hey! Newt, right?" Brenda asked grinning as if she knew something he didn't.

"That's what it bloody says on my nametag," he grumbled in response, not having the energy for pretend cheerfulness .

"Wow," she chuckled, "You are even grumpier than Thomas right now and he's been pretty dang grumpy lately ."

No wonder he was grumpy. He was dating her. She clearly had enough happy energy for the both of them, though, Thomas generally was a cheerful person.

"Can I get you guys anything?" the blonde asked, feeling quite annoyed.

"I'll have a large decaf caramel macchiato and-" She turned around to face Thomas, who hadn't uttered a word since they had entered the shop, gently placing a hand on his arm. "-what do you want, Thomas? I'll pay for it."

Ah, so they were already at that stage in the relationship where it was acceptable for her to pay for his things. Newt had clearly barked up the wrong tree.

Thomas shrugged and rubbed his temple. "Medium coffee, black," he murmured, avoiding eye contact.

Brenda paid and Newt got them their coffee just as Zart showed up. Newt was thankful that he wouldn't have to listen to them on their date.

Newt shrugged off his black uniform apron and headed out the door toward home, which was apparently the only safe place to avoid people he didn't want to see.

"Hey Newt! Why don't you come sit and talk with us!"

Newt cursed inwardly at Brenda's offer. He turned around to see Thomas giving her a look that screamed bloody murder. 

"No thanks," Newt answered politely. "I really don't want to intrude."

"Oh no, you really wouldn't be," Brenda insisted while Thomas stared down at the table. It was really kind of rude, avoiding any and all eye contact. "It's just coffee."

"Looks like Tommy would rather I left." 

Brenda instantly looked at him expectantly and  Newt suddenly felt horrible for throwing him under the bus like that.

Thomas' eyes peeked up at him, looking beautiful as ever and he finally spoke, somewhat hurriedly, like he of all people was nervous about anything. "No! I want you to stay! I mean, you can stay if you want but if you want to leave that's also perfectly fine too. It's up to you, man."

Brenda snorted and pulled over a chair for him. "You'd better sit down, Newt. We're going to be talking about that little moment for years to come."

Curse Brenda for actually being so nice when all Newt wanted to do was hate her for no valid reasons whatsoever.

Newt sat down with them and felt the brunette's gaze like lasers on the side of his face.

"I'm going to be really honest with you here. I knew  you were working here till like seven tonight," Brenda said, throwing Thomas a wink.

Newt narrowed his eyes. "What are you getting at?"

Brenda crossed one leg over the other and sat up in a busi ness like manner. Newt half expected her to pull out some sort of flow chart.

"You see," she began with an air of professionalism, "it has come to the attention of me and a few other mutual friends that you two have been ignoring one another recently and that is not only extremely obnoxious to the people around you, but it is also making you two very miserable and, as shown by our recent encounter while we were ordering coffee, you two are becoming grumpy on an intolerable level."

Thomas was trying to hide his very red face behind his hands.

Newt decided to be the voice of the both of them because the brunette wasn't going to be speaking anytime soon. "So what are you going to do about that?"

Brenda smiled at him. "Thank you, Mr. Isaacs, for that excellent question. I think it should be rephrased because the real question is, what are the two of you going to do about it now that I've taken Thomas' keys and I'm leaving in his car while Minho makes sure their dorm stays locked up until you've both arrived to ensure that you've made up?"

"I am going to kill her ," Thomas growled as Brenda hastily strutted out the door, swinging a key chain that presumably belonged to him around her fingers.

"I guess we should get walking and talking then,"  Newt said.

* * *

 

The first half of the walk, neither of them talked. It was as if they were both waiting for an apology.

Finally, Newt cracked, knowing he was obviously in the wrong. "I'm sorry, Tommy."

The brunette glanced over at him, looking confused. "For what? I'm the one who has been annoying and clingy."

Thomas was neither annoying nor was he clingy. "What? No! It's my fault, really. I was all creepy and, if anything, I was the clingy one. Latching on to you like a leech when you clearly had a girlfriend. That's why I tried to ignore you, to back off."

Thomas stopped in his tracks. "A girlfriend?" He took a moment to think. "Brenda?!" Thomas burst out laughing. "Dude no. She's just a friend from last year that I thought had the ability to get Minho to finally shut up about himself. Also, I'm gay, so she's obviously not my type ."

Newt was suddenly overwhelmed with joy, though he didn't let his face show it. "Guess I was a bloody slinthead . You're stealing my thunder though."

"What?" Thomas wondered aloud.

"Now we're going to have to share the privilege of being Minho's gay best friend." Newt grinned.

They walked the rest of the way to Thomas' dorm in a much more happy and carefree mood.

When they got outside the brunette's room, they stopped and Thomas bit his lips as brown eyes met brown eyes.

"Friends?" he asked after a few seconds.

"Friends," Newt agreed with somewhat of a fake smile on his face. It was nice to have a friend, but Newt honestly wanted so much more.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well folks, we are nearing the end probably.  
> Also my 1:30 New Year's Day genius that inspired me to write a full blown fic is in here

Newt was relieved to have Tommy as his friend again. It was exhausting, fighting with a person that you truly care about.

A few days after they made up, Thomas came over to his house again to study and sleep on the couch, due to Minho's inability to keep it in his pants.

Newt had spent three hours making sure everything was clean. Sonya had laughed at him, but she could fuck herself. It was perfectly normal for somebody to want their friend to be comfortable when they come over.

When Thomas arrived at seven that night, the entire apartment was spotless. Even his own room, which the other boy probably wouldn't even see.

Newt answered the door, but not without trying to fix his mop of blonde hair and smoothing out his shirt first. He couldn't be messy when he greeted his friend, especially in comparison to his beautiful apartment.

"Hey Tommy," Newt said, almost breathlessly after he had ran to the door.

Thomas looked great. He was wearing a clean a white school hoodie over blue jeans. It was a simple outfit, but it functioned to bring out his amazing eyes and slightly windswept brown hair. Newt felt underdressed in his ratty old gray t-shirt and tight black jeans.

"Hey Newt. You look nice," Thomas replied, causing Newt to blush. He didn't think that he looked that great at all.

"You too," he replied, trying to sound cool. They were friends. Nothing more.

Thomas smiled and followed him into the apartment.

"Holy shit! Did you clean for me? You didn't have to do that."

Newt shrugged in response. It was a klunk hole last time Thomas came over, so of course he had noticed. "It needed to get cleaned eventually."

Sonya laughed from where she was seated on the couch. "Yeah, sure, it definitely needed to get cleaned for five hours."

Newt narrowed his eyes at her and turned to Thomas. "Just ignore her and maybe she'll go away."

The brunette laughed and followed Newt into the kitchen. Newt noticed him staring at something and turned around to see what it was. The cups on the counter.

"You still haven't gotten this fixed?" Thomas asked.

"No time or money," Newt shrugged.

"My step-dad is a carpenter. Maybe I can call him and he can check it out for you," he offered.

Newt, for whatever reason, really didn't want to meet Thomas' parents. "It's fine. We'll figure it out."

"It's really no trouble," the brunette insisted. "They're coming out to visit me this weekend, and I'm sure he can take the time."

"I wouldn't want to take away from your family time," Newt pressed, really not wanting to meet the parents of the guy that he wasn't even dating.

"I can come over too if you want. Make it less awkward if that's what you're worried about."

Yes. That was exactly what Newt was worried about. But, he shouldn't be. It was just a friend's dad fixing up his cupboard.

"No, it wouldn't be awkward. Why would it be awkward?" Newt ran his fingers through his hair. He sounded so stupid. Why did Tommy even want to be his friend?

Thomas raised an eyebrow. "Dude, it's really no big deal. My step-dad is a pretty chill guy. You'd like him. Probably better than me."

"Doubtful," Newt mumbled under his breath, but Thomas must have heard him, because he smiled and flushed red.

"So," Newt said, breaking the tension. "Pizza?" He gestured at the brown box in front of him.

* * *

 

The rest of the night passed by fairly quickly and somehow, Newt found himself watching some cheesy movie that Sonya had picked on Netflix at eleven with Thomas curled into him, completely asleep.

Sonya turned off the TV. "Night Newt. Enjoy your boyfriend," she said, winking at him.

"We're not dating,"

Sonya rolled her eyes. "Not yet."

"We're friends," he whispered back to her.

"You're either lying to me or both of you are massive idiots that could get stabbed and think it was just your 'imagination.'"

With that, she walked off to her bedroom, leaving Newt alone with his sleeping friend draped across his chest.

After a few minutes of enjoying the comfort of having somebody he cared about near him, Newt realized he was going to have to eventually wake Thomas up. Before he woke up on his own.

He decided the best way was repeatedly poking him in the chest until he woke up.

"What time is it?" Thomas rubbed his eyes, looking as cute as ever with his messy hair and confused expression.

"After eleven. I'm going to bed," Newt replied, tossing blankets at the other man and then limping toward his room.

"Newt, wait."

Newt turned around hopefully. "What?"

Thomas blushed a deep red, as if he had wanted to say something he couldn't. "Nothing. Just, um, goodnight."

"Night Tommy," the blonde returned as he turned back into his room.

"Love you," the brunette whispered.

Newt froze up completely and turned around. Thomas was fast asleep.

"Love you too," Newt whispered to his friend. The words probably weren't meant for him, but he returned them because Thomas was his friend and he cared about him.

Newt slept well that night, dreaming of late nights spent watching movies with his friends. Well, one friend in particular.

* * *

The next morning, Newt awoke with a smile on his face. He sat up on his bed and massaged his leg. The normal morning ritual. He could smell cooking in the kitchen and could hear the sounds of voices chattering,

That meant that both Thomas and Sonya were awake, so there would be any catastrophic accidents occurring due to a lack of light. Definitely a step up from last time.

Newt walked out into the other room and instantly realized that he probably should've put pants on first. But, then again, it was perfectly normal for friends to see each other in their boxers, so it didn't really matter.

"Hey Newt!" Thomas nodded at him from where he was sitting in the kitchen. If he had been awake the night before, he didn't show any signs of it.

"Hey Tommy," Newt replied rubbing the last of the sleep out of his eyes.

"Eggs and crumpets, you two?" Sonya offered. He truly loved homemade crumpets. It reminded him of summers at his aunt's house when he was little.

"Yes please. I knew I kept you around for a reason," Newt replied, hungry as ever.

"What's a crumpet?" Thomas asked and both siblings turned to face him instantly with expressions of shock on their face. Even after over a year, Americans never failed to surprise them.

"A crumpet is-" Sonya began, wildly gesturing her arms, but unable to finish the sentence.

"It's like bread with holes in it?" Newt offered. Thomas still looked incredibly confused.

"Here, try one," Sonya said as she slid a plate topped with scrambled eggs and a crumpet in front of him.

"Oh, an English muffin," he replied in realization.

Newt and Sonya burst out laughing.

"Is that seriously what you call it?" Sonya asked, still laughing.

"Yeah," Thomas replied, unable to see what was so funny.

"But what's it got to do with a muffin?" Newt chuckled.

"They're both bread?" Thomas said, unsure of himself.

"Geez mate," Sonya giggled. "Suppose we should start calling muffins 'American crumpets.'"

The rest of breakfast passed quickly with an air of calmness and fun. Thomas did say that the crumpets were better than any 'English muffin' he'd ever tasted, so that was another win for Britain.

When they finished, it was time for Thomas to leave, so Sonya cleared the table while Newt sent him off.

"So," Thomas said, pulling his sweatshirt over his head and, for a split second, exposed a sliver of skin on his stomach. Newt was entranced. "See you Saturday?"

"What?" Newt broke from his trance. He had made no plans for Saturday at all. Was there something he had forgotten about?

Thomas laughed at his reaction. "I told you last night. My step-dad is coming to fix your cabinet whether you like it or not. It's the least I could do for you, man."

Honestly, Newt had totally forgotten about that due to some other things that Thomas had told him last night. Maybe it was time to focus on reality instead of harmonizing over his friend.

"I don't know..." Newt really didn't want to meet this guy.

"Too bad you don't have a choice," Thomas shrugged as he started to walk toward the door.

"I could not answer the door," he called to the figure that was retreating out of his apartment.

The brunette turned his head toward him. "I told your sister."

Thomas started walking down the hall.

"Bastard!" Newt yelled and Thomas burst out laughing.

* * *

 

Newt closed the door and turned around to see Sonya sitting on the couch with a serious expression on her face.

"We need to talk," she stated plainly. That meant nothing good. Maybe their aunt had died or their parents had called or even worse, both had happened.

"What is it?" Newt asked sitting next to her with a worried expression strewn across his features.

"Oh don't be such a buggin downer," Sonya rolled her eyes. So it was serious, but not negative. Good to know.

“You should go out with Thomas,” she stated.

“Why?” Newt asked, looking inquisitively back at the girl. They were just friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

“Because,” she started, “he looks at you like you’re the sun and you look at him like he's the moon.”

Newt turned toward his twin completely. “Why wouldn't we both be the sun or both be the moon? Why one of each?”

She smiled at him. “Isn't it obvious? He sees beauty in brightness while you, Newt, see beauty through the dark.”

She got up and left, leaving Newt alone to ponder her inspiring words. She was, unsurprisingly, correct. Newt was hopelessly in love with Thomas, despite how much he had been lying to himself and maybe, just maybe, Tommy had really meant those words that were spoken in all the dark and the tiredness to be for him, and him only.


	7. Chapter 7

Sure enough, on Saturday morning, Newt heard a hard knock on his door. He pushed himself off the couch as Sonya peeked out from her bedroom and beckoned for him to answer it.

Newt walked over to the door and opened it to find himself looking up to an extremely large man. He had to be at least 6'4" and like 300 pounds. They guy had thick red hair covered by a ratty yellow baseball cap and a big, bushy beard. Yet, despite his intimidating figure, he seemed like he was a kind man, with bright blue eyes and rosy cheeks.

Thomas pushed his way in front of the man, looking as fine as ever and spoke, "Hey, Newt. This is my step-dad."

"Hello," Newt said, hoping that he wasn't still gawking at the giant standing in front of him. "I'm Newt. It's nice to meet you Mr..." Newt didn't actually know his last name. It probably wasn't the same as Thomas' because he was his step-dad.

"Nice to meet ya, son. Call me Harve," the man said in a deep, gruff voice as he grasped Newt's hand in his own meaty fist and shook it. The man was strong and Newt was afraid that he'd fall over.

"So, I hear that ya need a cabinet fixed," he said as he entered their apartment, scanning around the place.

"Yes sir. Follow me," he said as he led the big, beefy man into his tiny kitchen.

Harve examined the cabinet. "This'll just take me an hour or so. I need to take the measurements real quick, then I'll send Tom out to get the wood I need to replace the bottom shelf."

He quickly got to work with the tape measure, spouting out words that Newt didn't really understand. Sonya, who had ventured in a few minutes later, somehow understood what he was talking about and took over the conversation, leaving Newt and Thomas standing there awkwardly, not understanding what was going on.

Harve moved to write something on a piece of paper and handed it to Thomas. "Now, son," The man had adopted a serious tone. "When you get to the hardware store, give this to a worker. Don't try to find it yourself."

"Have you no trust?" the brunette asked accusingly.

"I think you and I both know that you weren't made for fixin' furniture and such. Stick to yer computers."

Thomas looked insulted for a moment and then nodded in agreement. "Fine, but you're," Thomas pointed to Newt. "coming with me."

"Okay," Newt replied as a wave of relief came crashing down at him. Their tiny little kitchen getting awkward fast.

Once they were out of the door, Thomas breathed out, "Thank god."

Newt chuckled. "What? My kitchen not doing it for you?"

"It's just," Thomas bit his lip to stifle a little laugh. "How does your sister even know all this klunk?"

Newt shrugged. "I think she took woodshop in high school. Either way, she's making the two of us look like a couple of bloody slintheads."

Thomas shrugged. "In all fairness, that wouldn't be a completely inaccurate statement to describe us." Thomas flashed him a toothy grin and he couldn't help but smile back.

* * *

  
Newt was impressed with the staff of the nearby Home Depot, which he'd never set foot in before, when they were able to find them exactly what they needed in about two minutes.

Unfortunately, the check out line was extremely long. Newt was happy to have Tommy with him for entertainment.

"So," Thomas began. "How do you like my step-dad?"

Newt decided to answer honestly instead of just saying something generic like he usually did when asked his opinion about others. "He's kind of intimidating at first, but he's a nice guy and he definitely knows what he's doing."

The brunette nodded in response. "Honestly, I was a bit worried that you'd hate him for whatever reason. His size and charisma can give people the wrong impression sometimes."

"Why would it really matter if I didn't like your parents anyway, Tommy? I like you and that's what really matters."

Thomas blushed. "Thanks Newt."

The blonde just awkwardly nodded in response as they finally got up to the register.

"Just this today, boys?" asked the sweet voice of the old lady who was their cashier.

"Yeah, thanks," Thomas said, pulling out his wallet at the same time Newt pulled out his.

"That'll be $11.83 then."

"I got this, Tommy. It's my cabinet we're fixing," he said, earning a undeserved angry look from the other boy.

"Dude, I got it. It's my step-dad who's fixing it."

Newt rolled his eyes and pulled out a twenty. "Just let me pay. We're holding up the line."

Newt handed the lady the bill, feeling the heat of Thomas' gaze on his neck.

"Aww, I remember when my husband and I used to fight like that," piped up the old lady as she counted their change.

Both of their eyebrows shot up.

"We're not, um-" they spoke at the same time and then immediately made eye contact as their faces flushed a deep shade of red.

"Oh you don't have to lie, boys. It's 2015. I'm happy to see that people like you are allowed to be yourselves," she said comfortingly.

"Um, thank you," Newt said, unsure of how else to respond.

* * *

  
On the drive back, they didn't really talk about what had happened in the store. At least, not until Tommy, the slinthead that he was, brought it up right as they pulled into a parking space right outside Newt's apartment.

"I can't believe that lady thought we were, you know, a couple," Thomas laughing.

Newt's heart instantly sunk at the brunette's words. The words spoken a few nights ago were definitely meant for some other guy who probably isn't a mess.

"Shuck, Tommy. I didn't know I'd be so bad to go out with," Newt mumbled, holding back tears of disappointment.

"Crap, Newt. You know that's not what I meant!" Thomas instantly replied.

"Then what did you mean?" Newt asked with a hint of anger backing his words.

"I- I meant that, um," Thomas couldn't seem to find an answer, which obviously signified that Newt was right all along.

"Yeah, exactly. Thanks for that," Newt responded coldly as he walked into his apartment, Thomas trailing behind him, still looking for a suitable lie.

Newt went into the kitchen and handed Harve the wooden plank and then turned to Sonya.

"I have to run to Alby's. Don't know when I'll be back." Newt wasn't technically lying. He did need to go to Alby's. It was just in order to escape awkward moments with the certain brunette standing behind him.

Sonya nodded in response.

Newt then turned to Thomas' step-dad. "Thanks, Harve. We really appreciate that you came out here to help us with this."

"No problem, kid," replied that gruff voice as he continued to work.

Newt practically ran out of his apartment and into his car.

"Newt, wait!" Thomas called from somewhere behind him.

This time, Newt decided that ignoring the other boy would be the best course of action. Why was it that he always bothered with trying to get close to people that didn't even like him? After all, he wasn't a very likable person. The kids in high school didn't want him around, his parents didn't want him around. Why would Thomas be any different?


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey Alby," Newt said as his friend opened the door.

"What do you want?" Alby said, crossing his arms around his chest.

"Wow, Alby, didn't realize you hated to hang out with me," Newt mocked sarcastically.

"I can't. I'm meeting Laura's parents tonight." Alby tugged at his collar nervously.

"What?" Newt asked, shocked. "Why didn't you tell me? This is a huge step for your relationship."

"You seemed busy." Alby led him into the house. "We don't really hang out much anymore between me and Laura and you and well, you know."

Newt cocked an eyebrow. "Who and me?"

"You know exactly who," Alby responded as he picked up a white button down shirt and compared it to a blue one.

"Go for the white one. Looks classier," Newt said. "And I honestly have no idea who you're talking about."

Alby stared at him for a moment. "Newt, you are the worst liar I have ever seen in my entire life."

"You're right. Maybe the blue would be a better fit. Or a black shirt would fit nicely."

Alby narrowed his eyebrows at him. "You and I both know what I'm talking about."

"Enlighten me," the blonde said as he flopped onto Alby's couch.

"You and Thomas, Newt," Alby stated plainly as he started to button up the white shirt.

Newt bit his cheek. "There's nothing going on with me and Thomas. We're just good friends. Honestly, I don't even know if we're that anymore."

"Ah, so that's your motive for visiting me. You had a little fight with your boyfriend and then suddenly remembered that you had friends."

Newt felt horrible for ignoring Alby in favor of spending more time with Thomas. "Sorry," he said sincerely.

"Don't be," Alby straightened his tie. "I think he's good for you. He definitely makes you a lot happier and I think that you, in turn, do the same for him"

Newt frowned. "I ruin everything, don't I? I was going to finally ask him out then I had to go and distance myself again."

"It's not ruined. I've talked to him once or twice. He really likes you," Newt smiled. "Plus, he played high school football, so that's a bonus," Alby added, earning a small laugh from Newt.

"So what do you propose I do?" Newt asked Alby as he tied his shoes.

"Talk it out with him and then have sex before next Tuesday."

Newt snorted at the last piece of advice. "Why Tuesday?"

"Well," Alby explained, "if you two do it before Tuesday, Teresa has to pay me and if you do it after then, I have to pay her."

"You bet on my sex life?" Newt asked with an expression of horror on his face.

Alby shrugged. "What can I say? I like to gamble."

"You know we can get you some therapy for that," the blonde offered.

"Get out of my house, you shank. I have to leave soon," Alby ordered.

"See you around, Alby!" Newt called as he walked out the door.

"Bye, Newt!" Alby called back. "And good luck!" he added a few seconds afterward.

When Newt arrived back at his house, he was only partially happy to see that Thomas and his stepfather had already left, but that was probably only because it meant that his cabinet was fixed.

* * *

  
Apparently, it was Thomas' turn to do the ignoring because Newt hadn't seen him in over a week. He'd called the other boy approximately three hundred times, but he never picked up.

Newt had even asked Minho about it. Apparently he had found somewhere else to room besides his dorm because he'd come one night to grab his stuff and never returned.

Teresa also said that she hadn't seen him anywhere, which meant that he had been skipping classes since the two of them had Spanish together. Newt felt even worse because that meant that his words and actions were effecting the other boy's education.

Newt had even called Brenda about it and she'd yelled at him for three hours about how they were a pair of giant shuck brained slintheads. He couldn't argue with her because he knew it was completely true.

Newt had almost accepted the fact that Thomas had went home with his family and wasn't coming back when Teresa pulled him aside after one of his classes.

"Okay, so I haven't been completely honest with you," she said with a guilty tone.

Newt honestly had no idea what she meant and just wanted to go back to his apartment and eat lunch, but she was his friend, so he'd listen. "About what?" he asked.

"Well," she began, pointing her bright blue eyes down at her toes. "I kind of have seen Tom around lately. A lot actually."

Next time he was totally ditching her in favor of lunch. "So he has been going to class?"

"Yeah, but there's more."

Newt was extremely relieved that the brunette's grades weren't suffering just because he had been a total asshole.

"What else?" Newt asked and it came out more eagerly than he had meant it to.

"He kind of, well, um," she was crinkling her face up into all kinds of shapes.

"Get on with it already," Newt practically yelled.

"He'd kind of been like staying at my house for the past week and a halfish," Teresa finally admitted.

Newt blinked for a moment. He was so close, yet Newt couldn't find him. Thomas obviously did not want to be near him at all.

"Oh," Newt said, not having any other words to say at the moment.

"Oh? Newton Isaacs, this is extremely important. You need to make up. Like now." There was a sense of urgency present in her voice.

"Why? Tommy's a decent roommate." Newt didn't really have the courage to go over there and talk to Thomas, much less tell him how he actually felt.

"Why?!" Teresa shook him. "He is driving me insane. He's miserable all the time and all he talks about is you and he smells."

"He smells?"

Teresa nodded furiously. "Horrible. Like broken dreams and unwashed laundry. Even my dad has started to pick up on it and ask me when he's leaving and you know how he is!"

This must be serious. Teresa could be over dramatic at times but Mr. Agnes was the chillest person Newt knew. Once he had come home early from a business trip when Teresa was secretly throwing a party and told her that she should really try and get better beer.

"So I need to talk to him." Newt was known for stating the obvious in times of dire need.

"Yes! Like ASAP!" Teresa was shaking his entire body again.

"We need a plan," he decided aloud.

The black haired girl looked exasperated. "Why can't you just go and talk to him? Like right now."

"Because, like you said before. He smells." Then Newt added, "Also, it's lunch time and I'm pretty hungry."

"Well, you should definitely call Brenda then," Teresa advised.

"Why?"

"Have you met Brenda?" she asked. "She probably already has at least five possible plans drafted and she doesn't even know where he is yet."

Newt nodded. Brenda did always seem to know exactly how to fix everything. He was going to talk to her and then, with the assistance of her genius brain, he was going to win Tommy over once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw my tumblr is crackandcanonships.tumblr.com if you have any questions or ideas (this story is like done but I will take prompts for like timestamp type stuff, my Group B series, and for other fic.)


	9. Chapter 9

"Okay. So I already have six different choices on your plan to win over your true love," Brenda said, spreading six different color coded packets across her dining table. The packets were fairly thick, proving what Teresa said about Brenda being ready to be the truth.

"Whoah," was all Newt could say in response.

"Yes, we all know that Brenda is a genius. Moving on." Newt truly admired Brenda's confidence and sass levels. Her and Minho really should date.

"Okay," she said looking him in the eyes. "Do you want the fish plan, the stripper plan, the spilled coffee plan, the exorcism plan, the funeral plan, or the blind plan."

"What?" Newt asked, totally lost at that point. God, he had been spending so much time with Thomas over the past weeks that he was beginning to catch his confusion.

"Well," Brenda began. "I had to filter out the piano plan because I wasn't sure of the extents of your musical talents and the banana plan because it got wildly inappropriate way too quickly, so you're left with those six options."

"Um," Newt rubbed at the hair on his forehead, mildly terrified after hearing about the existence of some inappropriate banana plan. "I don't know. Can you explain them?"

Brenda's face lit up. "I thought you would never ask!"

Part of Newt was afraid to hear each one because, at the moment, "the spilled coffee" plan seemed to be the most normal, and that probably involved some level of embarrassment. The other part just wanted to talk things out with Tommy in the most effective way possible.

"The fish plan," she began, handing him the first packet. "So, the aquarium in the city is five dollars off this weekend if you put your name in the raffle for the shark challenge. I know that the aquarium is like two hours away, but I am 90% sure Thomas would jump at the chance to go there, so you can talk while you're there. I mean, who would reject somebody surrounded by a ton of people and huge tanks of fish?"

Brenda definitely liked to think outside the box, that was for sure. Still, one thing about the plan stood out. "What's the shark challenge?"

She shrugged. "Just a thing that the aquarium does every year where they pick ten names from the raffle and they have to swim in the tank where they keep the sharks on live television. No big deal."

"No big deal!" Newt shouted. "I could die!"

Brenda rolled her big brown eyes. "You'll be fine. I did it over the summer and I actually had to pay and they didn't even put me on TV."

"Next plan please," Newt begged. He was not willing to confess his love just to be eaten by a shark an hour later.

"On to my personal favorite: the stripper plan." Brenda winked at him. "So, Teresa and I tell Thomas that we're hiring a stripper to come and cheer him up, but instead of a professional, you arrive and strip for him."

"No," Newt stated. He was tall and lanky and did not want to show that off to Tommy before he tried to have a serious conversation with him. It was totally out of the question.

"Of course we'll have to get you a little bit of training but one of my ex-boyfriends is a stripper that'll teach you."

"Brenda." It seemed that she had almost forgotten that he was even there.

"Well, two are strippers but Jeff lives all the way out in Colorado and we only dated for like two weeks while I was on a ski trip."

"Brenda!" Newt shouted, finally able to stop her from talking.

"What?" she asked.

"I am not going to pose as a stripper."

Brenda crinkled her nose. "What a prude."

"Just move on. The next one seemed the most normal. Maybe I'll choose it."

Brenda's eyes lit up. "Well this one, the spilled coffee plan, is a bit complex and a little dangerous."

"Brenda, the first one involved me potentially getting eaten by sharks," the blonde pointed out.

"You would have been fine!" she protested.

"Just keep explaining," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"First, we're going to spill piping hot coffee on you and take you to the ER. Then, Teresa is going to tell Thomas that you're in the hospital and that she doesn't know if you'll make it out alive. Then, he runs in all romantic-like and sweeps you off your feet."

"What kind of plan is that?!"

"A well thought out one," Brenda replied.

"Sounds like you've been smoking weed and watching romance movies," Newt pointed out.

"Excuse you, there is nothing wrong with a good romcom and I don't need drugs for this level of genius. All I need is sleep deprivation."

"What's the next plan?" Newt asked.

"The exorcism plan." Brenda's lips turned up in a mischievous smile, showing off her perfect teeth.

Newt groaned. "No. Just no. Don't even explain it."

"C'mon," she insisted. "My uncle Jorge's friend's cousin is a priest and he'd be totally willing to help us out."

"I am not pretending to be possessed."

Brenda glared at him. "You want to win over your soulmate, right?"

"Yes, but we don't need to involve demons in the situation," the blonde mocked sarcastically.

"Well, if you wanted to involve an actual demon, my second cousin's-"

"I get it! You have connections!"

Brenda smirked. "Damn right I do."

She reached forward to hand him another packet. "The funeral plan. I just have one question before we start with this one."

"What?" Newt was exasperated. All of her plans seemed to be absolutely psychotic.

"Who is your next of kin?"

"My mom or dad?"

"How's your relationship?" she continued.

"Let's just put it this way," Newt said putting a hand on her shoulder. "If I had the choice between sticking my dick in a cactus and seeing them, I'd choose the cactus."

Brenda's eyes widened. "Duly noted. The last plan is the blind plan."

"Brenda, I am not losing my vision in the name of love."

She held her hands up. "Hear me out. You are not actually losing your vision. No part of this plan is dangerous."

"You said the sharks weren't dangerous," he pointed out.

"They aren't!"

"Whatever."

"This one is the most boring plan. I promise."

Newt gave a slight smile at that. "I never thought I'd appreciate something boring so much."

"So, we set you two up on a blind date together so you can talk it out."

"It's not really a blind date if I know about it."

"Oh, it can be a true blind date for you if you don't shut up."

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Why didn't you just say that one first? It's obviously the best option."

The doorbell rang loudly in the other room.

"Because of that," Brenda said as she raised herself out of the chair to answer the door. "Plan seven or, as I prefer to call it, the plan plan."

Newt blinked in confusion. They hadn't even chosen a plan yet, much less put one into action.

She opened the door to reveal a single figure in the doorway.

"Hey, I got your message. What's the emergency? Something about your cat dying?" the figure asked. "You know, I never even knew you had a-"

Newt froze as he made eye contact with the person in the doorway.

Tommy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Send prompts to me at crackandcanonships.tumblr.com


	10. Chapter 10

"Brenda, I swear to god-" Thomas began before she stuck her hand over his mouth to get him to shut up.

"I don't recall asking for your input, Greenie."

Brenda pulled him by the arm into the seat across from Newt that she had been sitting in the moment before. He tried to resist but, man, that girl was strong.

Newt opened his mouth to speak, but an angry glare from Brenda kept him silent.

"Now, you two," She pointed to each of them so closely that she was practically poking them in their faces. "need to talk. Teresa and I have decided that the thing that you two needed to get this thing going was a few girls that were willing to take drastic measures like, for example," Brenda turned to Thomas, "letting you stink up Teresa's entire house or," Brenda turned toward Newt and he could see the determination in her eyes. "threatening to spill coffee on you."

"The sharks were-"

"THE SHARKS WOULD NOT HAVE HURT YOU!" Brenda screamed angrily.

Newt jumped back in his seat so fast that he almost knocked over his chair.

"Now," Brenda said in a slightly calmer tone, "You two are going to talk it out. Again. I know you both have things that you want to say to one another and you are going to say them.

I will be upstairs and if I hear you trying to sneak out, you will have to deal with my full wrath and trust me, you do not want that."

Newt truly didn't. Unleashing Brenda's full wrath would probably result in numerous deaths as well as a few destroyed homes.

She strutted upstairs and left them sitting there awkwardly for a few moments, fear evident in their eyes.

"I don't know what just shucking happened," Thomas finally spoke. Newt smiled at the sound of his voice.

"You never really do what's going on, Tommy," the blonde pointed out.

"I'm not as idiotic as I look," Thomas assured him.

"It's okay if you're confused sometimes," Newt told him. "Your confused face is actually pretty cute."

Thomas blushed.

"So I heard that you have something to say to me?" Newt asked, not wanting to be the one to initiate the serious conversation that they were about to have.

"You can go first," the brunette instantly replied.

"No. Get on with it. I'm going last," he insisted.

Thomas took a deep breath.

"Newt," he began, "I remember when I first saw you back in the coffee shop when you were working. I sort of thought you were an actual angel with the way that the light shines off your bright blonde hair in rings like a halo. Then I stayed at your house and saw you around a lot more and I found myself feeling lonely when I wasn't around you. Even if I was with somebody else at the time. The first time that we ignored each other for a few days, it was so hard for me. I didn't understand how I could miss a guy that I had just met so much and then I finally realized it. I realized that is was in love with you, Newton Isaacs. Then everything was great for a bit after we made up and I just wanted to see you all the time but then I was put on the spot after the store and I should've just told you."

Thomas scooted the chair closer and grabbed Newt's face to force eye contact. "I should have told you that you're the best thing to ever happen to me and that a life without you would never be a real life."

Newt blushed and looked away, shocked that Thomas felt such strong feelings toward him.

"I guess it's my turn then," he whispered.

"Tommy. You are bright and beautiful. I've been through a lot and sometimes I have trouble seeing the light in things, but whenever I'm with you,  all I can see is a blinding brightness. I feel a mixture of happiness and safety and comfort that I have never felt before in my entire life. Before I didn't find much a point to my life but now I know. You're my reason to live. Everything was always leading up to this.."

Newt stood up and walked over to Thomas so that there was no longer a table standing between them.

"Thomas Greene," Newt spoke with a level of newfound confidence. "I love you. I will always love you. You are the stars in the sky and the bright moon on a dark night. There's no beauty to life without you. I want to be with you all the time. I want you," Newt paused for a moment, "No, I need you."

With those words, Thomas threaded his rough fingers through the blonde hair on the back of his head and pulled him forward into a deep kiss. Newt instantly ran his fingers through the other boy's fluffy brown hair and kissed back.

Some people describe kissing as 'tongues fighting for dominance' but it was nothing like that. It was like energy was flowing through one person to the other and Newt felt like he was being showered in the overwhelming feeling of love.

They broke apart and just stared at each other, wondering how it had taken them such a long time to get to that point.

Newt finally understood what it was like to be loved. For once, Newt didn't dwell on the past. He didn't care what other people thought because he knew that Thomas Greene loved him and, in the end, that was all that Newt really even cared about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's over. I'm kinda sad. Please send my prompts, questions, ideas, ANYTHING in my ask at crackandcanonships.tumblr.com
> 
> I love all of you that read this and left kudos, a comment, bookmarked it, or even just took the time to read the entire thing. It makes me feel really happy knowing that people actually enjoy my writing.
> 
> Thank you so much!


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